Is that agreed? Agreed.

When is it proposed to take Fifth Stage?

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I congratulate all the successful candidates in the Six-County local elections. It was an historical election for Sinn Féin, which is now the largest party in local government in the North. There has been a clear message from the electorate that people want to see the assembly back up and running. I encourage all the political parties to work hard to make that happen and for the Irish and British Governments to do the same. The other issue I want to raise is energy poverty. I have just come from a meeting of the Jo…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, and I welcome the women from the Liberties. I am a fellow Liberties woman, so it is great to see them in the Chamber. I wish to raise the issue of the impact of increasing electricity demand on electricity costs for households. The focus over recent months in the cost-of-living crisis has been on the cost of energy and the cost of gas heating. In October 2022 there was an emergency EU regulation on an intervention to address high energy prices. It proposed a mandatory target for m…

I thank the Minister of State. We all know that households have to play their part in reducing their demand, and smart meters are part of that. I have flagged numerous times that many people who live in apartments and flats are being gaslit by the Government's policy when they hear people on the radio telling them when is a good time to dry their clothes outside when they are not actually allowed to do that under their residential tenancy agreements. The question today, however, is about looking at electricity dema…

Yes.

I will speak briefly in favour of the amendment. I agree that we need greater transparency. The amendment is relevant in the context of my amendments relating to fossil fuel lobbyists. The Irish Academy of Engineering lists itself as a non-profit organisation harnessing the expertise of engineers and providing independent advice to policymakers and industry, yet it has repeatedly appeared on the airwaves, including on RTÉ, and has specialist committees. It comments frequently on energy security on this island and o…

I move amendment No. 5: In page 6, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “Insertion of section 16A into Principal Act 9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 16: “Report on code of conduct to protect the public interest from fossil fuel lobbying 16A. (1) Having regard to the success of the United Nations World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before both House…

These amendments follow on from the debate we had on Committee Stage. On Committee Stage we had tried to bring in a code of conduct specific to fossil fuel lobbying, building on the style of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. I think there is a general acceptance that we are now at a situation when it comes to climate change that we do not have time with fossil fuels and we have to decarbonise our society and move away from the use of fossil fuels. We know that both the fossil fu…

I wholeheartedly agree with Senator Norris that the tobacco industry engaged in the exact same tactics as the fossil fuel industry, which knew for decades that its activities were leading to global warming but fought and spread disinformation. In fact, some of the same individuals were involved in spreading that misinformation. Exxon's whole campaign has been very well publicised, where America is trying to tackle the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry and what that industry has done to delay all of the worl…

No.

I move amendment No. 6: In page 6, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “Insertion of section 16A into Principal Act 9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 16: “Report on how to protect the public interest from fossil fuel lobbying 16A. Having regard to the success of the United Nations World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before both Houses of the Oireach…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I commend my colleague, Senator Warfield, on tabling this Private Members' motion in the Seanad. We sometimes reflect on how far we have come as a country in terms of rights. I recently listened to the "Inside the Crime" podcast and it brought back just how different a country Ireland was in the 1970s and 1980s. The podcast covered the murder of Charles Self. I was struck by the fact that the Garda, rather than focusing on who took the life of that man focused instead on his diary and t…

I wish to raise the very disappointing news that yet again Ireland's emissions are on the rise when they should be going in the other direction. It is deeply concerning that once again we have the worst record in Europe. It needs to be said that more and more of our carbon budget is being consumed by ever more demand for electricity. The Government agreed at an EU level in November 2022 to set a target of 10% electricity demand reduction, of which 5% was mandatory. When asked about the measures by which Ireland wou…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I commend Senator Higgins, the Civil Engagement Group and Sárán Fogarty in Senator Higgins's office on bringing forward this Bill. It is really important the State leads by example when it comes to tackling climate change. We need that collective action and a strong, co-ordinated response. Through Government-led climate action we can mobilise the resources but also set out to communities and the general public that we are leading by example, leading from the front. One obvious act…

I would like to use today's Order of Business to ask the Leader to consider allocating time in the Seanad for statements on the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which was released recently. There were 150 recommendations in the report. The report also rightly highlighted the failure of this State to adequately fund, implement and enforce existing laws and directives. Ireland thrives on our reputation internationally of being clean and green when we know that the reality is anything but. We onl…

I note the momentous occasion yesterday in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital when the families of the Stardust victims heard that after a four-decade long campaign, the new inquest into what happened to their loved ones that night when the fire took place in the Stardust Ballroom will finally begin. I pay tribute to all the families. They have never given up hope of finding answers to what happened. The original inquests were rushed. They only gave the medical reasons why their loved ones died. They did not g…

I seek clarification from the Minister of State on the subject of transparency in respect of members' organisations that are engaged in lobbying. I refer to subsection (4)(b)(iii), which amends section 5 of the principal Act to create the new subsections (5)(2)(d) and (5)(2)(e). From my reading, this will amend the 2015 Act such that where a person is a representative body or an issue-based organisation that has no employees, it must supply the name of every person who is a member of the organisation. Might it be p…

Yes, and whether the obligation might be evaded by having any employee at all.